| 1 | 1 | | By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1601 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2015; March 23, 2015, read |
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| 3 | 3 | | first time and referred to Committee on Transportation; |
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| 4 | 4 | | April 13, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee |
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| 5 | 5 | | Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 4; April 13, 2015, |
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| 6 | 6 | | sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 8 | 8 | | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1601 By: Kolkhorst |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | |
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| 11 | 11 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 12 | 12 | | AN ACT |
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| 13 | 13 | | relating to railroads in this state. |
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| 14 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Section 81.001, Transportation Code, is amended |
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| 16 | 16 | | by adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (3) "High-speed rail" means intercity passenger rail |
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| 18 | 18 | | service that is reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 |
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| 19 | 19 | | miles per hour. |
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| 20 | 20 | | SECTION 2. Section 81.002, Transportation Code, is amended |
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| 21 | 21 | | to read as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | Sec. 81.002. APPLICABILITY. In this title, a reference to a |
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| 23 | 23 | | railroad company means [includes]: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) a railroad initially incorporated before |
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| 25 | 25 | | September 1, 2007, under former Title 112, Revised Statutes; or |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2) any other legal entity operating a railroad, |
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| 27 | 27 | | including an entity organized under the Texas Business Corporation |
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| 28 | 28 | | Act or the Texas Corporation Law provisions of the Business |
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| 29 | 29 | | Organizations Code, that owns or leases: |
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| 30 | 30 | | (A) locomotives and passenger or freight rail |
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| 31 | 31 | | cars; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | (B) rights-of-way used for the purposes of |
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| 33 | 33 | | transporting people or goods by rail between at least two |
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| 34 | 34 | | terminuses. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 3. Section 112.002, Transportation Code, is amended |
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| 36 | 36 | | by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: |
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| 37 | 37 | | (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b)(5), a company that |
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| 38 | 38 | | operates a high-speed rail system may not exercise the power of |
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| 39 | 39 | | eminent domain for the system. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 4. Section 111.103(a), Transportation Code, is |
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| 41 | 41 | | repealed. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 43 | 43 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 44 | 44 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 45 | 45 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 46 | 46 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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| 47 | 47 | | * * * * * |
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